Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Should I Be A Slut or a Whore?

Just a quickie to ask your advice, blogland buddies. As I mentioned earlier, one of my future projects is to make podcasts of some of my favorite stories. I really love to read my work aloud--as I discovered during my Amorous Woman promotion. My stories begin as voices in my head (yes, the line between madness and art is fine) and so channeling that voice for my reader/listener feels very intimate and immediate and gratifying.

I know that some people offer their podcasts for sale and I initially thought I'd bundle 5 or so stories and sell "anthologies" for a few dollars through Paypal. The point was not to make money, which I'm sure I won't, but to take myself seriously as an artist, to say that my work is worth something. To be honest, selling my stuff, even my novel feels strange. I'd rather buy up all the copies and give them away! I do this for love and anytime it's veered closer to doing it for money, I get a little uneasy.

The closer I get to actually recording the podcasts, the weirder it feels to ask for money. Why not just offer them freely? My labor of love given in kind to anyone who gives me the gift of her time? Or am I shortchanging myself, a victim of low self-esteem? Yep, money really messes with my head. I guess another option would be to try a test sale and see what happens....

7 comments:

Well, first of all, I entirely relate to the uncertainty and uneasiness you describe here around money.

It seems to me that reading your work aloud (especially when it's published work that is for sale) and offering it for download is another form of service, and it seems called for to me to thus offer it for payment. Not because you don't love it and wouldn't do it for free, but because it is a unique product that you are offering as a professional and this is what you do for a living.

In addition, your voice sure seems to me to be professional-level quality, lol! I feel like it should be sought after for professional voice work in general. :)

Artists getting paid? Huh? Who ever heard of such a thing? What a great concept. lol.

It's your time; your blood; your sweat and tears. I think it's more than okay to get paid for doing something you love too.

I think about all the photographers, painters, and musicians I know...and they all get paid to do what they love. I also think they've managed to stay true to their artistic spirits too. Or, kept it real.

Heheh. I know what you mean about wanting, sometimes, to just give it away out of goodness.

But the fact is that this is your work, and you have to value it.

I know it's hard to put a precise value on one's time, but I'd also remind you that when estimating an hourly rate for a freelancer, say, you have to take into account everything that a wage provides (pension fund, health insurance) as well as your overheads and running costs and capital costs (in proportion).

It might help, too, to remember that you're not exactly 'getting paid'. Nobody pays me to just sit here and 'be a writer'. I sell stories or books. You're selling a product. Does that make sense?

As someone who has spent most of her life being a stay-at-home mother who's done lots of volunteer work and has a "hobby" of writing, I certainly can identify with your uneasiness. I've always done things either for love or necessity. Writing falls in that strange overlap area and I still haven't quite figured it out. I've yet to get paid for any of my erotica (would help if I'd submit more) - but I did get paid for some writing last year and it was actually quite the strange feeling - good and ... something else I can't quite put my finger on.

Neve, Nikki, Craig and Robin, whoah, well your eloquence has won me over! It's weird, but doing it for myself feels venal and money-grubbing. Doing it for Artists and Art feels noble. Or rather, if any of you asked me if your work was worth $2 for five stories, I'd say "You bet!" So, okay, I think I'll go commercial--and buy us all a bag of potato chips with my earnings, lol.

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An American's Love Affair with Japan

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